Judge denies request to throw out Spencer murder case

A judge has denied a request to throw out murder and kidnapping charges in a northwest Iowa case. Juan Humberto Castillo-Alverez, also known as Ricardo Castillo, is charged in the death of Gregory "Sky" Erickson of Spencer.

Castillo-Alverez’s attorneys filed a motion that the nine-year delay in filing charges of second-degree murder and kidnapping denied him of his right to a speedy trial. Erickson’s body was found on June 14th 1997 at an unoccupied farmhouse in Jackson county, Minnesota. Castillo-Alverez was charged and an arrest warrant was issued, but he had fled the country.

Authorities learned in November of 1997 he was in Mexico. Mexican officials arrested him in 2005 and extradited him to the U.S. The district court judge Don Courtney ruled the delay was due to Castillo-Alvarez’s skill in eluding police.